Chapter 46 The Door Swung Wide Open

Erin’s sudden decision to turn and run was somewhat unexpected, and the little doll’s two short legs actually moved quite fast—but unfortunately, she was only 66.6 centimeters tall in total.

A doll a little over sixty centimeters tall can only move her short legs so fast, blurring them into afterimages at best. Before she even reached the door, the picture frame on her back snagged on a nearby chair leg. She had originally intended to dive under the chair, completely forgetting about the burden on her back.

Yu Sheng took two leisurely steps and picked up Erin, who was still kicking her legs frantically in mid-air.

"You can't hold a grudge like this!" Erin waved her arms wildly, punching and kicking at the air. "And wasn't that just to wake you up? Though I admit the method was a bit too creative, didn't you wake up in the end? Hey, put me down—"

"I didn't say I was going to do anything to you," Yu Sheng interrupted Erin with a smile, casually setting the little doll back down on the floor. "I just wanted to tell you, don't bite so hard next time. Even with my recovery rate, it hurt for a long time. You're definitely taking some payback here—though not biting at all would be even better."

Erin froze, looking quite surprised. "Ah, you're not mad?"

"Duh, it's not like I don't know who's trying to help," Yu Sheng curled his lip, hoisted Erin over his shoulder, and walked toward the door. "Now go get prepared. We're about to set off for that valley."

Erin stood on the floor in a daze, watching Yu Sheng walk away before hurriedly scurrying after him. "Did you remember all the 'features' of the place over there?"

"Crystal clear."

***

"I'm starting to think this place is actually pretty peaceful," Xu Jiali said, sitting behind the window, gnawing on a jianbing guozi bought by Li Lin in the morning, and looking out at the street with a sense of deep emotion. "It's really nice, way more comfortable than the Lawless Sector, and there aren't any angel cultists on the streets..."

"Of course it's comfortable compared to the combat intensity when you're on fieldwork," Li Lin said, sitting next to Xu Jiali and sipping from a cup of hot soy milk. "Just think of it as a half-vacation. Besides, the mission is just to keep watch. If anything extraordinary actually shows up, the Bureau will naturally send reinforcements."

"But I notice 'Little Red Riding Hood' has been acting all tense," Xu Jiali said, looking up out the window. "She's just a kid, wound up as tight as a spring—I was just like her when I first came out of the 'Platform'."

Not far outside the window, on the roof of a neighboring building, a young girl in a dark red coat was hiding in a corner, watching the movement on the street. She had a ham sausage clamped between her teeth, while the phantom of a pack of wolves flickered in and out of existence in the air around her.

Seemingly sensing the gaze fixed on her, Little Red Riding Hood alertly looked up toward the window where Li Lin and Xu Jiali were. Confirming everything was fine, she gave a slight nod, glanced at the street once more, then pulled several notebooks, pens, and paper from the schoolbag beside her and buried her head in her homework.

The pack of wolves continued to monitor the street on her behalf.

Li Lin looked at the dark red figure on the distant rooftop and couldn't help muttering, "I often heard the moniker 'Fairytale', but she's the only organizational member I've ever seen with my own eyes... Isn't she still underage? Running out here to do such dangerous work?"

"More than half of the members in 'Fairytale' are around her age, and most of them come from the same place," Xu Jiali sighed. "They're all unfortunate kids."

Li Lin looked astonished upon hearing this. "All of them? Why..."

"Because only children easily fall into 'Fairytales', while adult members of the organization often struggle to survive in them," Xu Jiali waved her hand. "If you're really interested, go check the archives yourself later. Don't ask her about it to her face."

Sensing something from his colleague's attitude, Li Lin uttered a thoughtful "oh" and temporarily redirected his attention back to the calm and peaceful old alleyways outside.

"Looks like nothing's going to happen today either," he breathed out lightly and continued sipping his soy milk.

Xu Jiali: "I'm still hungry. Where are your instant noodles? I'm taking a pack."

***

"Under the bed in the inner room—boil the water yourself. The kettle is in the kitchen; the water dispenser in the living room is broken and doesn't dispense hot water. Oh, and brew a pack for me too while you're at it."

***

Yu Sheng looked at Erin standing by the door with a look of extreme skepticism. "Is this your preparation?"

Erin stood on the shoe-changing stool just inside the entryway, puffing out her chest to make herself look more formidable. In her hands, she gripped a kitchen chopper she had brought from the kitchen. The chopper was large, and its handle was not suited for a little doll's palms, so she had to hold the handle with both hands to keep a steady grip.

"Isn't this just being prepared? Having an extra self-defense weapon gives me some peace of mind. When the real fight starts, just watch my supreme magical power!"

Listening to the doll's confident boasting, Yu Sheng's face twitched. "You'd be better off taking a fruit knife; it would be easier for you to hold."

"A fruit knife lacks aura."

"With your height, even if you carried a dragon-slaying saber, you wouldn't have any aura!" Yu Sheng said with a helpless expression. "I'm telling you, don't break it when you get over there. I really like this knife; it's especially good for cutting meat."

"Alright, alright, stop nagging. Why are you so worried?" Erin held the chopper with both hands and gave Yu Sheng an impatient, sideways glance. "Hurry up and open the door. We need to check what the situation is like on the other side first, anyway."

Seeing this, Yu Sheng said no more. He turned, gripped the front door handle, and simultaneously double-checked the pile of items stacked by his feet.

That was the food to be delivered to Hu Li.

Previously, when entering the alien domain, the belongings he carried and the trash bag in his hand had been brought across the door together. But this time, the things he intended to carry were far more numerous—along with a mountain of food, there was now Erin. Whether he could successfully transport this much "payload" was something he wasn't entirely sure of.

He had tested it, of course, but only with short-range door openings at home. Traveling to an "alien domain" was entirely different from small-scale movement in the real world.

Therefore, he could only prepare thoroughly. If it failed, he would simply treat this attempt as a test.

Yu Sheng wore an exceptionally oversized coat, its inner and outer pockets already stuffed with compressed biscuits, bread, and several cans of mixed congee. When he opened the door later, he would "prop" the door open as wide as possible, send the supplies at his feet across first, and then cross the passage together with Erin.

To achieve this, he also needed to open the door as wide as possible.

Still not knowing the underlying principle of the process, he could only rely on his intuition.

Yu Sheng narrowed his eyes slightly, recalling the characteristics of that valley he had recorded earlier through Hu Li's perception.

Recalling the chilling night wind, the stench of decay, and the bone-gnawing hunger that permeated the entire alien domain.

And most importantly, the "aura" required for spiritual guidance.

All of this transformed into the "frequency" for opening the door, into the scenery on the other side of the door that he imagined.

Next, he tried to focus all his attention on opening the door this single time. He needed to open a door large enough and stable enough, large enough to bring Erin across, large enough to carry all the supplies through, and precise enough to arrive right beside Hu Li...

The door handle turned slightly, and the chilling breath drifted into the entryway through the slowly widening crack of the door...

***

A passage far exceeding the scale of the previous few attempts was established.

As for just how massive this passage was?

At any rate, it was enough to cause Bureau Chief Baili Qing of the Special Operations Bureau and all the strike team leaders to emit piercing shrieks in their offices.

Bzz—

A strange and low humming sound suddenly echoed throughout the Wutong Road neighborhood. Yet, this humming sound far exceeded the limits of ordinary human hearing, and only those trained individuals with an extraordinary perception of the power of the "other world" could hear it generating a continuous tremor deep within their spirituality.

Xu Jiali, who was walking out of the kitchen carrying two bowls of instant noodles, instantly sensed something. She looked up in bewilderment out the window, only to see the daylight outside rapidly darkening, as if a heavy curtain were gradually enveloping the entire boundary city. Beneath that curtain, all the buildings outside were slowly becoming transparent and disappearing, while a hazy, valley-like eerie scenery "grew" outward from the original neighborhood.

On the rooftop outside, Little Red Riding Hood, who was busy finishing her homework, also jerked her head up. The wolf pack let out uneasy whimpers in the shadows, and a cold wind blew from nowhere, rustling her math workbook.

Li Lin, who had been lamenting the peace and quiet of the street just a moment before, sprang up instantly, shouting a full-throated "Holy crap!": "Holy crap! Something's happening outside!!"

Xu Jiali rushed behind Li Lin in two strides, still holding the instant noodles, and immediately realized: "No! What's happening isn't outside!"

Li Lin whipped his head around: "What do you mean?"

"We are 'observing' the change—we are falling into the alien domain!" As a veteran deep-diver, Xu Jiali instantly assessed the situation. She then shoved the instant noodles into Li Lin's hands, rushed to her equipment case without hesitation, and retrieved a beam dagger and protective gear. "Quickly contact the Bureau, before the signal—"

However, the speed of sinking into the alien domain was even faster than Xu Jiali had imagined.

A "tractive" force far exceeding his experience almost instantaneously dragged his and Li Lin's perception completely across the boundary of common sense and reason. He felt his vision blur, barely managing to pick up his equipment, when he heard the hollow howling of the wind.

All the scenery before his eyes changed; the rental apartment dissolved like a dream, and a valley shrouded in night appeared before him.

Li Lin only had time to see the phone screen on the table suddenly light up, the Bureau Chief's phone number flashing on it for a split second—and then, nothing remained before his eyes except pitch-black rocks and a pitch-black forest.

The two Special Operations Bureau agents blankly raised their heads. After exchanging a glance, they heard the low growl of a wolf beside them.

They turned their heads and saw the young girl in the dark red coat standing beside them with a solemn expression.

"We've fallen into the alien domain," Xu Jiali said after a brief silence, her voice deep.

Little Red Riding Hood nodded gently. "I know. Judging by the scale and characteristics, it should be the 'Wilderness' category."

Li Lin looked at Xu Jiali, then looked at the red-clothed girl, feeling he should say something as well.

He looked down, raised his hand, and asked, "Want some instant noodles?"